Troy Shantz
City council has given the Refined Fool Brewing Company approval to begin a major expansion downtown.
Nathan Colquhoun, one of the brewery’s owners, said the former Sarnia This Week building at 153 Christina St. S. is a much better location for its day-to-day operations.
“The new space is about five times larger than our current one. It comes with a riverfront view, a loading dock, lots of parking and plenty of space for our new brew system, which will also be approximately five times larger than our current system,” he said.
Refined Fool currently contracts out about 10,000 litres of beer production monthly to another Ontario brewery” Colquhoun said.
“This new brewing facility will allow us to have all that brewing done in house, and help us grow our distribution.”
Nothing will be done, however, until the timeframe for appealing council’s approval ends, he added.
The company intends to keep its current facility and popular taproom on Davis Street to brew seasonal beers.
Refined Fool presented council with a detailed 200-plus page report on Sept. 12 prepared with the assistance of a former city planner at a cost of $26,000.
Colquhoun admitted the report may have been overkill, but one he believes was necessary to be taken seriously by councillors.
“It's unfortunate that we live in a place where you have to play the bureaucratic game to move forward, when we've actually had other close-by cities approach us and ask us to locate in their areas.
“That said, we were determined to do it well from the beginning so we are happy it paid off.”
He said staying downtown was important to the company’s group of young entrepreneurs.
“Downtown is where small businesses have an opportunity to support one another and risk something creative and new. Art and culture are cultivated downtown, and we feel like we are an important part of what is happening here.”
Council voted 7-1 to amend the official plan to permit a brewery on the property.
Neighbours did raise concerns about potential noise, fermenting odours and a “public hall” in the building the company plans for the future.
Local lawyer Lyle Curran urged council to get expert advice before “jumping into” it.
“There are real problems that are going to arise from this proposal,” Curran said. “If you are wrong about the odours … it is going to be a mess for the city of Sarnia.”
Just south of the property is the Residence on the St. Clair, a retirement home with 75 residents. Owner Steeves & Rozema didn’t object to the proposal but asked for the city’s “due diligence” to ensure seniors aren’t impacted by noise and traffic during special events, said CEO John Scotland.
Colquhoun told council that storing the spent hops indoors and having it collected regularly for agricultural uses would control fermenting odours.